AEW Sets Sights on New Partner for Upcoming Video Game Projects

WWE 2K24 currently has no competition in the wrestling video game market, but AEW Fight Forever has become a viable alternative for fans. Despite this, the game has faced criticism for having several unusable modes and features. As a result, AEW is reportedly looking into potential partnerships for future video game releases to improve the gaming experience.

The game was released on June 29th last year and fans and critics alike have praised it for its solid and addictive gameplay but criticized the game for its lack of quality-of-life features as well as very limited options for customization.

According to Insider Gaming, the future of AEW video games is uncertain. Sources indicate that AEW’s decision-makers are seriously considering partnering with a new development team after facing numerous issues with the current game’s launch and performance.

Insider sources noted that AEW recognized the game went over budget and didn’t meet expectations, prompting them to explore new options. The original agreement with Yuke’s included one year of post-launch updates, which consisted of four season passes that added new wrestlers, moves, game modes, and venues. The last DLC pack was released in July, featuring Jay White. There have also been discussions about adding recently signed wrestlers like Will Ospreay, Kazuchika Okada, and Mercedes Mone to the roster, but the status of those talks is unclear.

“They [AEW] knows that things didn’t go the way they expected,” one source said. “The game was over-budget and it under delivered when it came out. It has AEW strongly considering moving to a new developer for their games.”

The focus is primarily on the overall gaming future. While some positives came from the Yuke’s partnership, there are concerns about the final year of the game’s development. Everything is still in the discussion stage, and no final decisions have been made regarding a new partner or the potential for a new game in the near future.

“Everything is on the table,” Insider Gaming was told. “There were some positives with the Yuke’s relationship, and some feel that with a foundation in place, another game could make things better rather than giving up after one attempt. But you can’t argue that there are concerns with how things went in the final year of the game’s development.”

AEW is reportedly reaching out to larger developers to gauge interest in creating wrestling games. They are conducting thorough research before making any decisions.

“There are feelers out to some of the larger developers in the space, including some obvious ones, to see what the interest in wrestling games are,” it was said. “They are doing their due diligence before any decision is made.”

AEW: Fight Forever even became part of PlayStation’s free monthly games list earlier this year. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that AEW is strongly considering hiring a new partner for future video games, so we’ll have to see if they will be successful in their endeavor.